In this episode, Dave Little talks with Reed Ozretich who specialises in a One Health approach to aquaculture in the context of a changing climate. He's been working on a Belmont-funded project in Brazil and Ivory Coast coordinated by Giulio de Leo, at Stanford University, but working with local partners focusing on understanding the dynamics of snails as vectors for schistosomiasis; what, if any, is the role of farmed fish in controlling them? Reed talks here about his recent work in Ivory Coast with Professor Eliezer N’Goran. at UFHB in Abidjan.

Researchers discuss a comparative production trial between mixed-sex and conventional all-male stocks of tilapia farmed in cages in Thailand. This showed that males can perform as well in mixed-sex culture and that smaller females can boost total cage production. Financial analysis demonstrated why this is not current practice, but indicated that if a market premium could be obtained for non-sex-reversed fish, and/or smaller fish sold into markets where these command a higher price, this could become a more attractive strategy with wider social benefits.

In this podcast, Professor David Little talks with Associate Professor Abdullah-Al Mamun from the Department of Fisheries and Marine Science at Noakhali Science and technology University, Bangladesh, about the findings of his research among shrimp farming communities in South West Bangladesh that prawn farming in extensive systems also produced large co-catch of other species that benefited nutritionally vulnerable people.

In this episode Professor David Little speaks with Dr Wenbo Zhang of Shanghai Ocean University about a new collaborative Nature publication which makes the case that freshwater aquaculture dominates global aquaculture production, but that its importance is often overlooked in global food-policy agenda and research.

This week, Dave Little is interviewing Dr. Richard Newton, who discusses his work on the idea of ecologically responsible intensification of fish farming through improvements in farming efficiency and the reuse or repurposing of waste products throughout our supply chains.

In this episode, Professor Dave Little talks with Wesley Malcorps about his study as part of the EU GAIN Project, on the nutritional characterisation of European aquaculture processing by-products, to facilitate strategic utilisation.

As part of the EU GAIN Project, Wesley Malcorps and other project partners visited seafood trade exhibitor booth messaging strategies in China, which is the largest seafood producer in the world by volume. They also observed trading booths in Europe and America. These are considered the major seafood consuming regions in terms of value. They observed logos and word use on booths in Brussels, Boston and at three shows in China (Guangzhou, Qingdao and Shanghai) to determine the key messages communicated by seafood sellers to their buyers. European and American seafood traders showed a high interest in “sustainability” messaging, which is driven by consumer demand for ecolabels and sustainable production practices, while Chinese traders showed a relatively higher interest in messaging around “safety” and “quality”. The use of “safety” messaging can be traced back to concerns around food safety and efforts to address public concerns related to public health scandals. The use of “quality” messaging is strongly associated with signalling about the natural characteristics and health benefits of seafood consumption in the Chinese market.

Professor Dave Little talks with early career researcher and GAA Innovation Award Winner Dr Simao Zacarias about his work on developing higher welfare practices for producing white-legged shrimp and on developments within the shrimp industry to reduce environmental impacts and contributions to greenhouse gas emissions.

In this episode, Professor Dave Little speaks with researcher Alexandra Pounds about her work studying the evolution of decentralised rice-fish fingerling production in North West Bangladesh; its importance for income generation, nutrition and community health, and how this is being affected by climate change.

Professor Dave Little talks to researcher Stephanie Horn about her work in Bangladesh. This involves looking at the nutritional and environmental impacts of different culture technologies, including the introduction of GIFT tilapia. The aim is to identify the most resilient and sustainable farming systems that can provide food and nutrition security for low-income producers and consumers as they face the risks of climate change.

Researchers at the Institute of Aquaculture at the University of Stirling discuss the potential benefits of incorporating fish farming into household livelihood strategies. The podcast discusses the income and food security benefits of having a pond by also looking beyond just the fish and seeing the pond as a strategic component of a larger food system, one that is interconnected with terrestrial crops and livestock; but also as a potential tool against climate shocks - begging the question: does having a pond on your farm make you more climate smart?

An interview with researcher Alex Pounds of the Institute of Aquaculture who is part of a small team funded by Innovate UK working to understand the issues faced by women oyster harvesters in the Sherbro River Estuary in Southern Province, Sierra Leone. Alex explains both the potential impact of climate change on the oysters and mangroves where they grow and the implications for the value chain which supplies growing urban populations, and livelihoods of the women involved. She also provides insights into how some of the value chain activities themselves contribute to climate change and hence the need for significant innovation in this sector.

This is the Introductory episode of the HotFish series of podcasts from the Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling. These are a series of conversations around the implications of climate change in different aquaculture and aquatic food contexts. They especially feature early-career researchers tackling a range of challenges in different countries. We hope they will be a useful contribution to the upcoming COP26. The podcasts have been produced with financial support from Belmont NERC.